Buying used vehicles makes a lot
of sense when you’re living on a budget, but every now and then a factory-new
machine appears to have your name on it.
This kind of enticement only comes up about every 10 or 15 years for me.
It has always been a new model that hasn’t been around long enough to
accumulate on the used market. Something about it promises a significant leap
forward in styling, utility or performance. Given my passion for bikes it is
surprising that I have only been sucked into the motorcycle dealership showroom
with my pocketbook three times now in a 46-year riding career.
Honda S90
My first new bike came only one
year into that career after starting out on a Honda S90. Many hours had been
spent absorbing every visual and factual detail found in my Bultaco literature
collection. The pent-up desire for the 250 Matador was enough to make my teeth
ache. Used ones could be found but they were pretty beat up. A new one made
sense even on the tight budget of a 17-year-old kid. It was the perfect bike for me at the time
and money well spent.
Bultaco Matador
BMW R60/2
Fast-forward a whole 24 years
before I felt flush enough to consider the luxury of a brand-new
motorcycle. By now I am 42 years old and
realizing that my youth was slipping away. After riding my BMW R-60/2 for 19
years, the “standard” street motorcycle had given way to more specialized
models like cruisers, touring rigs and sport bikes. Wanting to sample a
performance motorcycle before my body dictated otherwise I was drawn to
blood-red Ducatis with their pounding V-twin motors and torque-rich power
curves. I rode out of the dealership on
a new 1992 Ducati 907ie. Designed by the legendary Massimo Tamburini, it spoke
to me in ways that nothing on the used market did and I have never regretted
the choice.
Ducati 907ie
Twenty more years and many used
bikes came went before lightning struck again.
This time it wasn’t passion but safety that provided the impetus. I have
learned the hard way that unexpected obstacles jump out at you occasionally if
you ride a lot. If they appear while you are leaned over even slightly in a
curve you can’t afford to lock-up either wheel even momentarily. Modulating braking pressure isn’t so hard when
you have half a second to think about it. But in a panic situation hitting the
brakes is so instinctive and modern brakes so powerful that, given a limited
reaction time measured in hundredths of a second, things can go wrong before
you have time to think. The pavement is hard and your day is ruined. BMW pioneered the development of ant-lock
brakes on motorcycles in the ‘80’s and they have become fairly common on the
latest models from most every manufacturer. After last month’s run-in with a
dog I decided that I would only buy bikes that had ABS. It won’t cover every situation but it is one
less hazard and in my experience is worth insuring against. One spill saved
will more than pay for the extra expense.
I’ve had multiple bikes in recent
years, each one especially good for a certain kind of ride. Current favorites
in my garage include the Suzuki SV650 and Ducati Multistrada 1000. The SV is used primarily for short rides
around town and up local canyons but proved its worth last year on a 900-mile
ride over some of Washington’s
twistiest roads. I love the SV for its small size, light weight, eager, quick-revving
motor and ease of use. It may be small but the grin factor is huge.
Suzuki SV650
The Multistrada was designed to
handle the often bumpy, pot-holed mountain roads of northern Italy. We have
a few roads like that around here and they tend to be my favorites. McNeil Canyon
near Chelan, before it was “improved”, comes to mind. The Ducati’s long-travel
suspension soaks up bumps without drama and the massive low-end torque launches
the bike out of corners like a cannon. Because of its size and rangy, upright ergonomics
it is supremely comfortable on an all-day ride. But the Multi is lumpy at low
RPMs, too tall for my short legs and drastic overkill around town. As much as I
have loved both of these bikes they do not have ABS and will have to go.
Multistrada 1000
Reducing my stable of street-bikes
down to one or two makes a certain amount of practical sense. They take up space in my garage and require
annual renewal of license tabs and insurance policies. During winter months
they call for the constant shuffling of battery chargers. It has been
heart-warming to look over a menagerie of two-wheeled fun machines but lately I
am in the mood to simplify. The quest to find one bike that would cover most of
my pavement-riding bases began in earnest about a month ago. This kind of
pursuit is always fun. Although my first choice for a new bike might have been
the new Multistrada 1200 with ABS, it is simply too expensive. I would rather
not get that kind of money tied up in one bike, especially one that would serve
as a daily driver and errand runner.
Suzuki has been selling another
650 with the same motor as found in my trusty SV. The smaller version of the original
V-Strom 1000 has developed a cult following among those who value function over
panache. Affectionately known as the Wee Strom, the 650 V-Strom has earned
accolades that approach the unbelievable for a budget-priced bike. Consider
these words from the Sept. 2006 issue of Cycle World: “…the V-Strom is
absolutely unreal in that regard (cornering). It lays into a corner so easily
and holds its line so effortlessly that surely the laws of physics have been suspended
and counter-steering is no longer needed. Not the case, of course, but there is
some kind of magic going on here.” I have never heard such praise lavished on a
production motorcycle.
Suzuki V-Strom 650
I sought out a ride on the Wee
Strom and came away very impressed. The
steering is delightfully light and effortless.
The SV’s peppy V-twin motor is there and the whole bike is the epitome
of practicality. To make this bike even
more appealing, the new 2012 edition is improved in several significant ways,
including standard ABS. Not only that, but Suzuki was offering them at zero
down, zero percent interest. They were practically giving them away and it
seemed a shoe-in as my next bike. So why
didn’t I get one?
Practicality has its place but is
of limited value in my world of hot-blooded motorcycle passion. Perusing the 2012 Motorcycle buyer’s Guide I
noticed a bike I had ridden a year earlier – the Triumph Sprint GT with
ABS. It came in dark blue – a most
enticing color. I was looking at the
Sprint with a new eye when my friend Doug suggested a trip to the Triumph/Honda
dealership in Issaquah. He had been swooning over the Honda VFR1200 and
hankering for a test ride. We noticed the Triumph Tiger 800, a new model last
year, also came with ABS. Re-absorbing
everything written about the 800, it also came to the fore as a bike in bad
need of sampling.
Adventure touring is the latest
craze in motorcycling and bikes offering some pretense of off-road ability are
selling well both here and in Europe. Never
mind that most buyers never venture off the pavement, they do offer comfortable
ergonomics and real-world performance on imperfect roads. These are the very characteristics
that drew me to the Multistrada.
The Tiger 800 is available in two
versions; one has a 19” front wheel and the XC comes with a 21” front and wire
spoke wheels. The XC is the one to choose if you have real off-road
aspirations, which I don’t. No way am I going to spend big bucks on a shiny new
bike and thrash it in the boonies; I have a KTM dirt bike for that. The
standard 800 (sometimes called the “roadie”) will handle a dirt road at cautious
speeds – all the adventure I anticipate.
Triumph Tiger 800XC
Frank, at I-90 Motorsports in Issaquah,
is an amiable salesman and not stingy with the test rides, allowing Doug and I to
take out three bikes one day last May. The Triumph Street Triple is a very fun little naked
bike in the same vein as my beloved SV but has no ABS. The Honda VFR1200 offers a frightening
amount of forward thrust in an otherwise ultra-refined package. It made me feel
drunk with power but this is not really the direction I need to go as I am
trying to slow down and protect my aging bones. It is also too heavy to serve
as my daily runabout.
The Tiger 800 was such a pleasing
ride that we each rode it twice. It has
the same magical lightness-of-being as the Wee Strom but with more power, better
suspension and a more aggressive look. It was also a Triumph – a legendary British brand
that I had never owned. Although most of the bike is black, the gas tank and
front fender come in a choice of three colors: black, white and something approaching metallic
snot. White should be good. So, will it be the uber practicality of the new V-Strom
or the more sophisticated, two-wheeled British Spitfire? I don’t make these decisions impulsively and
it took a few weeks to collate all the data and impressions floating around in
my brain.
I only have a few miles on my new Triumph
Tiger 800 ABS but the impressions so far are very positive. The state-of-the-art in motorcycling continues forward with every decade and the Tiger is
certainly the recipient of that progress. Compared to the bikes of yesteryear it
feels more like a gazelle than a tiger. It feels smaller and lighter that my
Multi, with a more youthful athleticism. Like mixing in a little SV with the
Ducati, it is a delicious blend of my two favorite bikes.
I will know more about the comfort
after my first full day in the saddle but it feels good so far. I’ve already
ordered a new MadStad windshield system for it. The clutch pull is lighter and
mounting up easier than on my tall-horse Multi. The Tiger’s three, much smaller,
pistons run smoothly at all RPMs and pulling away from a stop is shudder-free.
Although I will miss the booming thunder of the big twin’s exhaust, I think the
easy smoothness and broad spread of power of this triple will grow on me.
Sometimes it just makes perfect sense to purchase a brand-new vehicle.
Tiger finds a new home
